Course Catalogue

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This course introduces students to selected key issues relating to economy and society in World War II and the main historiography surrounding them. It does not focus on the fighting itself; instead it addresses the Second World War as a global conflict with primary attention to the economic and social issues that helped bring it about, the economic and social constraints on the combatants, and the war's economic and social impact.

Lecture: one hour per week, Seminar: one hour per week. Please note this course does not run every session. For the current course list please see: http://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/economicsocialhistory/honourscourselist

Enrolment in an MA (SocSci) or MA (Arts) Honours Programme

One source report = 15%

One essay = 25%

One two-hour exam (answer two questions) = 60%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The aim of this course is to introduce students to selected key issues relating to economy and society in World War II as a global conflict and the main historiography surrounding them. It does not focus on the fighting itself; instead, it addresses the economic and social issues that helped bring about the conflict, the economic and social constraints on the combatants, and the economic and social impact that the fighting entailed.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

1. Situate critically a primary source document in the historiographical debates studied in the module.

1. Assess critically and broadly some of the key historiographical issues relating to the economic and social history of the Second World War.

1. Demonstrate understanding of the mutual interactions among war, economy, and society during the conflict and the ways these interactions changed through time.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.